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Philadelphia
Philadelphia is the larges city in Pensylvania. It is located on the Easternmost edge of the state bordering New Jersey. The rivers Delaware and Schuylkill flow around the current city center, which used to be the whole city when it was established in 1681 by William Penn. For those GPS nuts it right there: 39°57′12″N 75°10′12″W Inhabitants The city peaked its population in 1950 when there were 2 million people living in the city (not in the metropolitan area). Since then the population has been declining. The 2000 census showed that there were 1.5 million living there. But the 2009 estimates show that the population may have increased again. The demographic of the city in 2008 were as follows: *43.2% Black *41.0% White *11.5% Latinos and Hispanics *5.4% Asian *4.7% from other races *3.2% Mixed Race *0.2% Native American *0.05% Pacific Islander Statistics shows that about 46% of the inhabitants are male and 54% are female. The median age is about 35. Economy Philadelphia's economy is mainly based on manufacturing, refining, food, and financial services. Tourism also helps its eeconomy. In 2008, this was the 11th-most-visited city in the USA. 710,000 visitors travelled to Philadelphia in that year. The common occupations are the following: 31% management, professional, and related occupations 23% sales and office occupations 18% service occupations About 68% of workers have jobs at companies, 15% work for the government and 4% are self-employed. Latest statistics show that the average income is about $26,600. The national unemployment rate is about 6.9% while in Philadelphia this rate is 12.4%. Architecture Philadelphia's buildings are very different and it is easy to follow the changes as time passed. In the 17th century buildings were mainly made of logs. One century later, brick houses became fashionable. In the 19th century, two styles were dominant. In the first half of the century, the revival of the Greek style was favoured while later huge Victorian styled buildings appeared. The 20th century is characterized by skyscrapers made of concrete, steel and later made of glass and granite. The highest skyscraper was built in the 21st century, in 2008. Its name is Comast Center and this is the 15th highest tower in the USA with its 297 metres height. Night Life Although Philadelphia is a historic city everyone can find a good bar or restaurant to spend a night and have fun. The city is full of clubs, bars, restaurants, dance bars. The Top 10 list of bars includes places sush as Grace Tavern, North Third, Good Dog Bar, and Sugar Mom's. Belgian or Irish pubs are also very popular there. Sports Philadelphia takes its active part in professional and college sports as well. It is one of the 13 major cities in the United States where each of the 4 major sport leagues are represented.The four major teams are *Football, Philadelphia Eagles with 11 Division championship, 22 Playoff appearances and 3 Conference championships, but never won the Super Bowl. *Basketball the 76ers with 11 Division titles, 5 Conference titles and 3 Championships. *Baseball the Phillies with 9 Division titles, 7 NL pennants and 2 World Series title. *Hockey the Flyers with 15 Division championships, 7 Conference championships and 2 Stanley Cups. While each team had its successes in the past, 'The Curse of Billy Penn', founder of Philadelphia, haunted the teams from 1987 to 2008. The base of the curse was that a gentleman's agreement that said that no building should be higher than the statue of Billy Penn atop the city hall was broken. The skyscraper One Liberty Place was built higher, and so the curse haunted the teams until 2008, when the Phillies won the World Series and broke the curse of Billy Penn. The most notable college sports are football, basketball and rowing. Football fans cans support the Temples or the Philadelphia State University, but basketball has the longest history in the city. Since 1955 Philadelphia is the home for the so called Big Five, five schools within 15 miles to each other all having both success and history in playing basketball. Due to its location Philadelphia is also the home of many rowing events, including the Dad Vail Regatta, the biggest rowing competition in the United States. ''Here is a podcast about Quarterback Hype from EaglesFanCast. Will McNabb stay in Philly?'' Media Philadelphia is rich both in printed and electric media. It has 5 daily newspapers, including The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News, numerous weekly papers. More than 10AM and 20 FM radio channels broadcast daily. A listener can chose from a wide range of music, jazz, pop, rock, country, top 40 and many other types of music fill the airwaves, with some channels concentrating on politics, news or religion. More than 10 local TV channels are avaible, the networks use the following affilates: *'CBS' KYW-TV operating since 1941 *'ABC' WPVI-TV operating since1947 *'NBC'WCAU operating since 1948 *[http://www.myfoxphilly.com/ FOX] WTXF-TV operating since 1965 Transportation Residents of Philadelphia can select from a wide range of public transportation. 117 bus routes are busy throughout South Pennsylvania. The metro system, opened in 1907, is the fourth oldest in the US. Septa Route 15 is a historical trolleybus line where remakes of streetcars used in the 30's are active. There are also trams and commuter rails helping people to reach their destination. The transport company is called SEPTA (Southeast Pennsylvania TransportationAuthority). The fares can be found on the home page of the transportation company. Youn can check the Rail System Map and the Bus System Map here. Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is the only major airport in the metropolitan Philadelphia area, the 11th busiest worldwide regarding aircraft activity. It is also an international and a domestic hub for US Airways. There are 700 daily departures to 120 destinations. It has 2 primary and 2 secondary runaways. Other fun facts at phl.org Philadelphia is unique in a way, because it was the first US city that used a grid plan. Designed by William Penn, the city, that is the city center today, stretched between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It had 4 public squares around the edges of the city, and on in the middle which has become the Philadelphia City Hall. Current Issues Politics *According to Philadelphia Weekly the city expects at least 125 million $ budget gap this year. Mayor Nutter gave his 2011 budget address at 3 March. The 2011 budget year starts at 1 July, 2010. Follow up the story at philadelphiaweekly.com Education *Parents are skipping school. Very few show up to School Council meeting says a mother from Kearny School. Experts agree and urge parents to take interest in the school's life and education. Full article at philly.com Police Activity *There were a series of raids on bistros in Philadelphia, the police was looking for illegal beer. Pennsylvania has strict rules regarding alcholol production and sales, and many bars were accused of selling unregistered beer. Get the full scoop at 6abc.com